Thanks to this chap's post sometime ago, I found out how to do just that, however, is it possible to emphasise that new users register with their private emails as this function does not exist in 'custom fields'.
This was the post, very useful.
I was just working on this for my forum. Here's what to do:
Log in to the ACP
Select the 'USERS AND GROUPS' tab
Select 'Custom profile fields' under the 'USERS' section on the left side of the page
You will see 'Custom profile fields' at the top right with a header bar below that that shows 'FIELD IDENTIFICATION', 'FIELD TYPE' and 'OPTIONS' Likely there is nothing below it since you have not yet done this.
Below the header bar I mentioned is an input box where you type in a field name. This can only be 17 characters long and can contain the letters a through z and the _ underscore. I believe that is because this creates a new table in the database. Anyhow, next to the input field is a dropdown menu. For what you want, choose 'Single text field' then hit the 'Create new field' button.
The next page will show you the name of the field you entered in the top box, 'Edit profile field'. The next box down is, 'Visibility options'. To make your new field show up on your registration form, click the box for, 'Display on registration screen'. If you want to make this a requirement, check the next box down as well, 'Required field.
The box below that is 'Language specific options'. In the, 'Field name/title presented to the user' you will see the field name you originally created. You will likely notice if you used capital letters when you first created the field name that the name displayed has no capitals (FYI, that's because it's being used as a database table name). Change the value in the 'Field name/title presented to the user' to anything you like. Capitalize the first letter, do whatever else you want here.
In the, 'Field description' box, you can leave instructions or suggestions to the user or you can leave it blank.
Lastly the, 'Default value' can be left alone or you can enter whatever you like. This part is particularly helpful for creating dropdown menus so that there is a default value displayed. For your purposes, I'd leave it blank.
Now hit the, 'Profile type specific options' button.
The next page you'll see is 'Profile type specific options'. The values you see on this page allow you to adjust the length/size of the input box and other variables. They are pretty self-explanatory.
Make the changes you want and click, 'Save'. You're done!
Any time you want to modify a custom field, simply:
Log in to the ACP
Select the 'USERS AND GROUPS' tab
Select 'Custom profile fields' under the 'USERS' section on the left side of the page
and click the green gear to edit the field, the red X deletes a field and the blue arrows allow you to arrange the fields in any order you like.
I hope this helps! Please let me know how you do.
Sincerely,
wordman
